What is SSH?

One of the most widely-used security encryption protocols, SSH is relied upon by millions of websites and Internet users every day to provide secure communication between clients and servers. The strong encryption of SSH is designed to protect sensitive and confidential information (e.g., financial or medical data) as it travels over through the decidedly unsecured environs of the Internet.

If eCommerce, customer accounts, and detailed records are a part of your website plan, you’ll most likely want to find a host that supports the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol, an encryption protocol for networks created to allow secure connections (such as the one between your customers and your Web server as they submit payment details) across unsecured networks (such as the Internet). Fortunately, nearly all hosting providers have embraced SSH (along with the Linux-based servers for which it is optimized) as a standard part of their hosting packages, and the protocol itself is an essential part of modern commerce on the ‘Net.

Created in 1995 by a Finnish student in response to a hacker’s attack, SSH is a Linux-native protocol that provides security by establishing security keys—one private, one or more public—on the server and client. For example, with many eCommerce solutions, when a client logs in, the server compares the keys, and if they match, encrypts the connect and then permits the user to log in. Other authentication options are available, depending on the desired level of security and the purpose of the connection itself.

Along with eCommerce, SSH is commonly used to log into or execute commands on remote servers, provide authentication for users on a Virtual Private Network (VPN)—useful if you need to give your staff remote access to sensitive areas of your site or network “off limits” to outsiders—and for encrypted, high-security browsing. SSH often requires a bit of tinkering and additional software to function in these roles, so be sure to speak with your IT staff or host before adding them to your Web server.

While known as a Linux-optimized protocol (Windows is the only modern operating system that does not include native support for SSH), SSH is also available for use with Windows servers, so if your applications require ASP.NET or other Microsoft development tools, you can have your SSH cake and eat it, too. Just remember to confirm support for SSH is included with your hosting package when shopping for a provider.